Playful
by Big Meanie
Summary: He's only like that around her...


Playful

A/N: I was looking up at my Sonic group poster on my wall while listening to _Forbidden Friendship_ from the first How to Train Your Dragon the movie and I was immediately reminded of Shadow and Cream. Ironically the two are right next to each other on my poster so it made me smile even more. Lots of fluff and friendship in this one... Of course, bits of humor too...

_He's only like that around her..._

Shadow and Cream were in a clearing in the forest with a lake in its center. It was one of the few places where the two of them visited often. It was the same place Cream first made Shadow adore her for her innocence. Cream ran to the edge of the lake and dipped a finger into the clear water, smiling down at her reflection as it ripples from her recent touch. Shadow folded his arms before teleporting to a nearby rock to relax himself. He was tired, but he knew he'd promised the rabbit that he'd bring her to the clearing to play and run around.

Cream giggles softly as she continues to poke the still water of the lake, enjoying how her reflection danced through the ripples.

"Look Mr. Shadow!" Cream squealed. "The water's so clear!"

"I know dearheart." Shadow answers her tiredly. The rock he sat on was perfectly round to sit on but hard to lay on. He was only a few feet away from the rabbit. He hadn't sleep decently enough to feel well-rested.

"I'll be up here if you need me." Shadow called down to her.

"Ok!" Cream called back and began to run around the lake suddenly, making the elder hedgehog confused. Then he spotted her grabbing a stick and began to poke at a fish she saw swimming in it. Just as she thought she caught it, it swam away making her pout in her disappointment.

"What are you doing child?" Shadow asked her from where he sat on the rock.

"There's a fishy in the water! I tried to catch him, but he swam away. I can't see him now."

"Leave the fish alone. You'll fall into the water and we'll have to go home to get you changed." Shadow forewarned the girl who dropped her head. She didn't want to spoil her and Shadow's playtime by falling into the water and catching a cold.

She steps away from the edge and instead plays with the stick, pretending it was a magic wand. She pretended to be a sorcerer, gathering up magic and pretending to fire it into the air.

She giggled at her imagination, looking over at Shadow and sees him lowering his head because was tired. He wanted to lie down but couldn't.

She points the stick at him and pretends to fire magic at him.

"What are you doing?" Shadow mumbles tiredly.

"I'm firing magic at you, so you don't feel tired anymore." Cream laughs. Shadow grunts.

"It didn't work." Shadow yawns. He watched as she pretended to hit him again with a stream of magic.

"Dearheart, I'm tired. Play with the trees." Shadow told her calmly. He yawned again and the rabbit pouted her lip. She saw his canines gleam in the light as he did so.

"But Mr. Shadow, the trees can't run around and play with me." She got closer to the rock the hedgehog now laid on. "You promised you'd play with me today."

Shadow yawned again before rubbing under his nose. He sighed before slowly sitting up from the rock and popping out his back to get situated. He teleported off the rock and in front of Cream before kneeling down to her level.

"Alright dearheart, what you wanna do?" Shadow asks her. Cream squeals in excitement.

"Lets play princesses and unicorns!"

"'Princesses and unicorns'?"

"Yeah! I'll be the princess and you be the unicorn Mr. Shadow!"

"Ugh fine." Shadow got down on his knees to allow Cream to get on his back, and he slowly began to crawl around the lake on his hands and knees all while Cream giggled and told her stories. He showed amusement in the younger's imagination as she pretended her stick was a wand with the power of healing. Shadow continued circling the lake with Cream in his back until he got tired, resulting in Cream ending her imaginative story of the princess and her unicorn.

"You've tired me out dearheart, I can't carry you on my back anymore." Shadow said out of breath. He flopped down on his back and breathed heavily. Cream was becoming a big girl and Shadow may be the Ultimate Life Form, but he still had his limits.

Cream laid beside him on her back and smiles at him. She watched the rise and fall of the white patch of fur on his chest and was almost tempted to reach out and gently comb her fingers through it. Shadow eventually sits up and fixes his quills, eying his reflection in the water. He was tempted to lean in and drink the water given how clear it was. He tilts his head and twitches his ears, making Cream giggle. He eyes her curiously.

"What's so funny?"

"You're twitching your ears Mr. Shadow. It's cute when you do that."

He smirks and twitches his ears again. She giggles and sits up.

"It makes you laugh when I do that doesn't it?" Shadow said with a hint of playfulness in his voice. Cream laughs.

"You're funny Mr. Shadow."

He smiled at the rabbit before turning his gaze back to the lake. He acknowledged the tiredness in his eyes. The grey underneath his eyes visible on his muzzle. He knew he looked terrible to the rabbit, but she was too sweet to say something other than positives.

"Mr. Shadow, why are you so tired today?" Cream suddenly asked the elder hedgehog, catching him by surprise. He gasps silently before turning his attention to the curious rabbit. She was looking at her own reflection on the water, a small smile on her face.

"I haven't been sleeping well dearheart, I've been doing a lot lately." Shadow admits.

"Are you having nightmares Mr. Shadow?" Shadow hesitates to answer.

"Well...you could say that..." Shadow mumbled. Cream looked up at him, smiling innocently. Shadow returned the smile with a small one of his own.

"Whenever I have nightmares, I talk to Cheese. He listens to me and makes me feel better."

"Cheese? Where is he by the way Cream?" Shadow questions the girl.

"He's at the Chao Garden. There's something special going on right now so he wouldn't be back in a while. I still miss him when he goes." Cream answers the hedgehog. She loved her Chao so dearly that even when she knew he was just at the Chao Garden during mating season or other Chao festivities that it made her miss him plenty.

Shadow knew the rabbit and Chao were inseparable; the way the little Chao was able to bring someone to their knees and send them flying made Shadow curious on how she trained it to do so.

"Hm, what do you want to play now?" Shadow asked Cream. She smiles at him.

"Can we play hide n' seek?" She asked. Shadow nodded.

"Alright."

"Eek!" Cream squeals and runs off somewhere while Shadow closed his eyes and counted to ten. Cream hides behind the large old willow tree and giggles into her hand as she watches Shadow continue to count.

"...eight, nine, ten. Ready or not, here I come." Shadow wouldn't admit the fun he had playing with Cream to another soul. He first searches behind the boulder he reclined on but saw no Cream-colored bunny hiding behind it. He heads for the bushes to search for her but didn't find her there either. He searched behind everything except for the willow tree where he smirks.

Shadow walks up to the tree and pretends to scratch at his chin in confusion.

"Well, I can't find her anywhere." He begins. Cream covers her mouth to stifle the giggles wanting to escape her mouth.

"Where could she be?" Shadow pretended to wonder. His acute hearing allowed him to her Cream just behind him and his smirk widened.

"Perhaps behind this willow tree—" Shadow teleported and got in front of Cream, grabbing her playfully "—is a little rabbit!" Shadow playfully growls as he holds Cream and lifts her into the air making her laugh. He carries her into the open and playfully wrestled her down into the grass before tickling her, making her squeal in high-pitched giggles. Shadow smirks. amused by the younger rabbit's reaction.

"Ah! Mr. Shadow!" Cream laughs. The elder hedgehog stops his tickle assault on the younger rabbit and chuckles.

"Never let the Ultimate Life Form catch you." Shadow teases. Cream sits up and buries her face into his chest, hugging him.

"You're funny Mr. Shadow." Cream mumbles into his chest fur. Shadow returned the hug.

"Only around you, dearheart." Shadow answers.

The two eventually stayed at the lake until evening tome, where Shadow teleported him and Cream to her house where he watched her skip up the steps and hug her mother tightly. He smiles as he waves at the two rabbits, before watching them head inside and he teleports to his own residence.

A/N: Well, another adorable Shadow and Cream fic to add to your faves. Leave a review if you want and tell me what you think. Stay tuned for the next fic whatever it is...


End file.
